Chapter Eleven: Love and War
Knocking on the door to Kennedy's room, Willow felt her heart race as she tried to figure out the best way to tell her girlfriend her biggest secret. She knew it would hurt Kennedy, knew she'd be angry, but she couldn't keep hiding it from her. When the door opened, Willow gave Kennedy a nervous smile.
"Hey," Willow said, pausing for a second as she looked at Kennedy. "Can we talk?"
"Yeah." Moving aside, Kennedy let Willow into her room, curious about what had the redhead so uncomfortable. "What's going on?"
"I need to tell you something. You probably won't like it. I mean, of course you won't like it, but it'd be wrong if I kept it from you. I shouldn't keep secrets from you, and this would be a really big secret. Even if something is wrong and can hurt someone, you shouldn't keep it from them, because it'd be worse for them to find out on their own instead of hearing it for themselves, right? I mean, I'd want to know if someone did something stupid and cheated on me, but maybe I'm wrong? Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and pretend like nothing happened," Willow babbled, looking at Kennedy.
As Kennedy caught up with Willow's words, she frowned at the hidden meaning of the babble. "You cheated on me? With who?" Kennedy asked, her anger coming out as she glared at her girlfriend.
"I wouldn't necessarily call it cheated," Willow defended, dropping her head so her green eyes were no longer looking into the angry brown eyes before her.
"What are you talking about then? Did you or did you not cheat?"
"I don't know. I mean, it was just a kiss. I only kissed her once, and when I realize what I did, I pulled away and ran off," Willow admitted, not lifting her eyes from the spot on the ground that she was staring at.
"Tara? You kissed Tara, didn't you?"
At the whispered question, Willow finally made eye contact with Kennedy. "Yes. I don't know what came over me, but it just happened. I didn't mean to kiss her," Willow said, seeing the sad look in Kennedy's eyes.
"You cheated on me with her? How could you kiss Little Miss-I'm-so-shy-and-innocent?"
"Don't talk about her like that. No matter what, she's still my best friend," Willow snapped, feeling her own anger rise in defense of Tara.
"Best friend? Do you always kiss your best friend? I should have known something was going on when you got so angry about her kissing Faith. I thought it was just because Faith was your ex, but no. It's because you have feelings for Tara, isn't it?" Kennedy asked, yelling the question at Willow.
"This doesn't have anything to do with Tara. I made a mistake."
"So what? I just forgive you and we forget this happened? Willow, you kissed you're best friend while you're dating me. Let me guess? She batted her eyelashes and pretended to she was upset about something?" Kennedy said, glaring at her girlfriend.
"No. Tara didn't do anything to cause it. We were talking and I kissed her," Willow told her, frowning at Kennedy's words.
"So what do we do now?"
"I think we should break up. We aren't right for each other, Kennedy. If we were, this wouldn't have happened," Willow admitted, frowning at Kennedy.
After staring at each other in silence, Kennedy turned and quickly walked out of the room, causing Willow to stare after her in surprise and rush out behind her, wondering what Kennedy was up to.
Throwing open Tara's bedroom door, Kennedy grabbed the taller girl by the shoulders and slammed her back against the wall. "You little bitch," Kennedy shouted, pulling her arm back in preparation to hit Tara, her anger blinding her from her own actions.
When a hand grabbed her arm, she turned her head to see Faith standing there, with a fire in her eyes. "Touch her and I'll break you in half," Faith warned, her own voice low and deadly.
"You wanted her so much that you had to steal her away?" Kennedy asked, no longer shouting, but not letting go of Tara.
"Yo, Butch, let her go. Now," Faith snapped, her hold tightening on Kennedy's arm.
At Faith's words, Kennedy released Tara and stepped back, anger radiating off of her. "Everyone thinks, you're so sweet and innocent, but I know better. You're nothing. You play games and do whatever it takes to get what you want."
Staring at her in confusion, Tara frowned at Kennedy's words. "What are you talking about?" she asked, giving Kennedy a strange look.
"Willow? You two kissed," Kennedy reminded her.
"Okay, and you think I tricked her or seduced her?" Tara said, trying to understand Kennedy's thought process.
"I know you did. Willow's too innocent to kiss someone without them doing something," Kennedy snapped, glaring at Tara.
"I didn't do anything," Tara defended, looking at her in anger.
"She's right," Willow whispered, catching everyone's attention. "Tara didn't do anything, Kennedy. I told you she didn't have anything to do with what happened. I kissed her."
"Whatever," Kennedy muttered, walking out of the room in anger.
After watching Kennedy walk out, Willow turned to Faith. "Is it okay if I talk to Tara alone?" Willow asked, looking at her ex-girlfriend for a few moments.
"Yeah, sure. You okay, T?" Faith whispered, waiting on a nod in response before slipping out quickly.
"You don't have to tell me. I already know," Tara said, turning her back on her friend in anger.
"Then what am I going to say?" Willow asked, looking at Tara's back in confusion.
"It was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened. You just want to stay friends," Tara replied, resting her hands on the wall as she tried to control the emotions running through her.
"I was actually going to say that I feel something for you. I don't know what, but I feel it. I felt it when we kissed, and I want to figure out what it is. I also want to go on a date with you," Willow admitted, giving Tara a shy smile as Tara turned to face her in shock.
"What?" Tara whispered, feeling confused and shocked at the same time.
"I want to spend time alone with you in a date-like environment, and maybe share some kisses and gay love," Willow responded, stepping closer to Tara. "So, will you let me take you on a date?"
"Yes. I'd love that."